He said more than 40 per cent of household waste was recycled in England last year, compared to just 11 per cent ten years ago.

‘Increased recycling means that the amount of waste we send to landfill has been reduced by nearly half over the past decade,’ he added.

‘But there’s still room for improvement to keep valuable raw materials out of landfill. In the future we want to see more innovation when it comes to reusing things we normally consider to be rubbish – for example, turning old tyres into road surfaces or even funky eco-shoes.’

Figures released by the Environment Agency this week in its first Annual Waste Crime Report revealed it shut down 759 illegal waste sites last year.

In the past three years, the number of people imprisoned for committing serious waste crime offences has almost trebled – 16 last year compared six offenders in 2009.

A total of 335 individuals and companies were prosecuted last year for serious waste offences.